There are 94 naturally occurring elements.
Some are more abundant in the Earth’s crust than others.
Natural resources and processing capabilities are geographically concentrated.
Deeper red indicates greater risk of supply chain disruption.
Ref: 10.1111/j.0033-0124.1985.00075.x
The USGS identifies 50 minerals as critical to US economic and national security
USGS Critical Minerals not shown on the periodic table: barite, fluorspar, graphite.
The US DoE identifies 19 materials as critical to future US energy security
DoE Critical materials not shown on the periodic table: SiC, e-steel, coal, graphite.
Considering these together, a substantial portion of the periodic table is currently critical for the United States.
USGS Critical Minerals • DoE Critical Elements • On both lists • Not critical
DoE Critical materials not shown on the periodic table: SiC, e-steel, coal, graphite; USGS Critical Minerals not shown: barite, fluorspar, graphite
While in some cases we lack geological resources, more frequently we lack domestic processing capabilities.
There are two paths to support the national needs from a mechanical, materials, and industrial engineering research perspective.
Minimize the amount of critical minerals needed in engineering materials.
Make materials containing critical minerals last longer in service.
For both of these, we must advance the science of materials processing and the methodologies of materials discovery & design.